SAIA | Od driver thinking of switching

Here you go train. if I was in his shoes and not wanting to move it's SAIA all the way. Saia L/H in most terminals is a good choice. He needs to under stand that he will be in the system ( gone 5 days a week) or a shuttle driver ( if they have shuttle drivers most don't). ask questions we do have a bunch of good drivers that will help him with what ever he needs. remember no question is a dumb question the first time it's asked. I do have some problems with the way some things are done around here BUT I would probably find the same problems @ the other companies, with most the only difference is the name on the door and the color of the truck. So I guess my best advice would be WELCOME TO SAIA! and fell free to pm me any questions you don't want to ask in public.
Thanks JK and of course Dracula as well. I do think he was wanting to move to P&D however. Read the thread all the way through if you have time to get a feel of the young man. He's willing to take a pay cut to spend more time with his family yet I get a feeling he still wants to have the status and options that 5 years at OD brings. P&D is a different world and him being gone from it so long makes me wonder. Him being 26 makes me wonder if this is really what he wants. Plus his comment about weekend work sounds like a bit of a contradiction in some ways. I just don't want him to second guess himself because once you jump it's done. I thought of sending you this in the PM format but I think it's something he needs to read. I mean no disrespect Snowflake but you really need to understand that losing all that seniority at OD doesn't come without a price. Do you really understand what it means to be on the bottom? Can your ego be OK with it?
 
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How's your vacation after 5 years I have 3 weeks plus 2 all purpose days and my birthday is a holiday.. I'm looking at Saia and Estes I wanna stay union free.. I have thought about O/E myself, my father is one and has been for 30 plus years.. but I have seen first had the ups and downs of that game
It's been a while, so, if I make a mistake, someone please correct me. One week the first calendar year +5 personal days. 2 weeks +5 personal days from year 2 to year 6. 3 weeks +5 personal days from year 7 to year 18 and then 4 weeks +5 personal days. Go read the Estes thread and see what they post.
 
They are the most profitable that is a prove fact our operating ratio is 83.5 to 100 that's by far the best in ltl. I do love od just starting to hate the 68 mile drive one way each day!
Dracula I have a 596 mile a run a day by choice I'm 48 out of 160+. I hired in a good time but your right I leave my house and return home after 15+ hours a day. Can I run extra LH on weekends if I'm a p&d driver
Yup 26 been driving with Od since I was 21 I'm 48 out of 160+ on LH side. I am a home owner and have no intention of moving closer to coh because I live in a great area! I have been thinking about this for awhile and I see your terminal is hiring I'm my area along with Estes
I am a LH driver once a city driver and if I switched to saia I would go p&d.. I'm paid mileage now and gross over 90k a year with od. Money's not everything in life to me. Just exploring my options closer to home! Any of you guys ever been to the Mansfield terminal
I have been with od for five years love the company but the terminal is over an hour from my house. There is a saia yard 10 min from my house that is hiring! Does anyone know anything about the Mansfield oh terminal? What are your thoughts on switching?
I ask because I have a schedule and after 5 years I drive 2 hours just to commute.. that's 2 hours every day I could be at home... Saia seems like a ok company
A brief synopsis JK.
 
Damn 26yrs old making 90k a year and wife's a nurse if this was poker I would fold cause u got the winning hand lol
And the Rider does make a great point here. The "commute" is really tough. I understand that. But do you walk away from a sweet deal with OD to start all over at the bottom in P&D? That's a tough call no matter how you slice it. Rider your a pretty young man. Would you do it?
 
I tell you what , leaving the house and not getting home until 15 hrs later will make a young man old quick ! If your gonna do it then I would not wait , more people get in the door ahead of you. Its a tough decision no doubt , but having 3 or 4 more hrs at home with family would decide it for me! And you will make a big cut into your weekly gas bill with no commute, big savings there.. Good luck hope you get on.
 
That's a tough decision but I think I would hang in there with OD. He say he got a 598 mile run what if he can get a 425mile run next bid and shorting how long he work and get off quicker which add more time at homefront. OD gives regular raise 425 mls a night still good $
 
Want to Thank KT in HR for knowing just the right questions to ask. Funny how you know most people better than they know themselves. Thanks for dropping in from time to time.
 
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It's been a while, so, if I make a mistake, someone please correct me. One week the first calendar year +5 personal days. 2 weeks +5 personal days from year 2 to year 6. 3 weeks +5 personal days from year 7 to year 18 and then 4 weeks +5 personal days. Go read the Estes thread and see what they post.
the vacations are based on calendar years, so it may take a year longer to get the next week.
 
Doing p&d with eventual access to weekend LH work with some seniority is your best bet for the future. You're putting in too much time at OD with that drive back and fourth.
You might be starting out at the bottom at saia but you will move up. You're still young if you're gonna do it now's the time. Especially since your wife has a decent job and you can take a pay cut until you get seniority.
I think it will be the better move to do the switch now before you're nuch older, wore out and in a situation where you cant afford to leave and stuck there.
 
Something that no one has mentioned is that you can start out city but, if a linehaul position opens up, then you can transfer into Linehaul. Of course, transfers are based on senority but I've seen 2 city guys at my barn transfer into Linehaul and every terminal has greybeards like train and me. Train and I would have to go into tiebreakers to see who is older.
 
That's a tough decision but I think I would hang in there with OD. He say he got a 598 mile run what if he can get a 425mile run next bid and shorting how long he work and get off quicker which add more time at homefront. OD gives regular raise 425 mls a night still good $
I totally respect your honest anwser. Honesty and integrity on this site becomes lost at times. That's why I spend most of my time on my personal blogs. One thing I have learned in my 40+ years in this business is how to spot a man or woman that is a phony. You Rider are the real deal. Of course I do have the pleasure of knowing you personally which makes it much easier. You understand that for everything good in life there is a price to be paid. You want no hand outs. No free lunch. You want to pay your dues and work your way up the right way. So many primadonna individuals in this business today. Your character is beyond reproach. Thank you for all you do.
 
Thnx train I respect and enjoy the drivers here they have helped me in my transition from truckload to LTL I learned a lot at Saia from other others and glad to be here at Saia they r a helleva company and hope to retire here.
 
Something that no one has mentioned is that you can start out city but, if a linehaul position opens up, then you can transfer into Linehaul. Of course, transfers are based on senority but I've seen 2 city guys at my barn transfer into Linehaul and every terminal has greybeards like train and me. Train and I would have to go into tiebreakers to see who is older.
I'm salt and pepper and still have my hair which is a good thing. I believe Jack Knife is 62 so he gets the Old Timers award. But I bet he's bald. LOL !!
 
Thnx train I respect and enjoy the drivers here they have helped me in my transition from truckload to LTL I learned a lot at Saia from other others and glad to be here at Saia they r a helleva company and hope to retire here.
Yea Renegade ,this place isnt as bad as some want to make it out to be.I left my former employer with quite a bit of time under my belt to come here, and have no regrets whatsoever.
 
Before you leave, you need to remember OD is growing very rapidly and they may very well build a terminal in Mansfield one day to relieve the pressure off Cleveland and Akron. Heck if saia and Estes have terminals there it must be enough freight in the area to justify them being there, why not OD someday? Maybe in the near future.
 
Before you leave, you need to remember OD is growing very rapidly and they may very well build a terminal in Mansfield one day to relieve the pressure off Cleveland and Akron. Heck if saia and Estes have terminals there it must be enough freight in the area to justify them being there, why not OD someday? Maybe in the near future.
Thats just one of the reasons I personally think he will never jump. If I were a betting man I would say he's already changed his mind. That's one of the benefits of having 4 grown children all of which are older than him but one. Saying and doing are completely different animals. We shall see. I've been wrong before so it's no big deal.
 
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